Anti-dust device for grain elevators



Sept. 15, 1959 JfQYARNDT 2,904,176

ANTI-DUST DEVICE FOR GRAIN ELEVATORS I Filed Aug. 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 p 1959 .1. H. ARNDT 2,904,176

ANTI-DUST DEVICE FOR GRAIN ELEVATORS Filed Aug. 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lryverytor J hn H. Arndff,

Agcnr United States Patent ANT I-DUST DEVICE ELEVATORS John H. Arndt, St. James,- Manitoba, Canada Application August 8,- 1957 ,.Serial No. 67 7,058

'3 Claims. (CL 209-147) In the operationt of a grain elevator, the .grain is delivered to a pit hopper at the bottom of the-elevator and from there it is elevated, .by. buckets on an endless belt, to a head box in the cupola or top of the elevator. The grain then passes from this head box, down a-girber spoutwhich is swingableat-o connect any one of a series of spout openings. on the cupola floor, saidspout openings delivering to the various grain bins of the elevator. Thev belt and buckets pass up a tubular rectangular-shaped front leg fromthe pit hopper and return down a similar back leg.

As the buckets pass over a headqpulley in the head box for their return passage, the. grain ,is thrown or pitched. out toward the entrance. to the girber spout and accordingly, clouds of grain dust fills the headbox. Most of thisdust passes downthe back leg with the down moving empty buckets and into. thepithopperfrom where it passes to all parts ofth e elevator and collects on various shelves, ledges and walls, forming a-dangerous fire hazard, besides the health-hazard to those :working; in the elevator.

The principal object of thepresent invention; is to provide a fan between theg, cupola and-thef head-jbox for positively removing the: grain; dust from said; headbo'xand delivering same to exterior atmosphere, and. so materially reducing the above mentioned fire and; healthhazardslin the elevator.

A. f'urther.,object of: the -inventionl,isto: accomplish the above, and-at the same-time reduce the expense of same, by utilizing the bucket drivinglhead pulleyas thefan for the purpose, and making suitable changes-tothe existing structure of the head box.

A still furtheriobject of'; the: invention" is to m'ake the above alterations in a simple, economical eflicient and durable manner, a'ndsuch that the changeover can be accomplished by an-unskilled-workmanlwith a reasonable working-knowledge oftools: I l

Withfthe above important" andj otherl. minor .ohjects ih view whichwill' become more apparent as th'ed'escription proceeds, the invention consists essentially in the arrangement, construction and alterations of the parts hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a partial vertical section through the cupola of an elevator, showing the grain elevating operational parts, and including changes made therein for the purpose of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged side view of approximately one half of the head pulley by itself, and with fan blades installed therein.

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on the line 44, Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged prospective view of one of the attachable fan blades for the head pulley.

Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the fastening plates for the fan blades.

2,904,176 Patented septv 15, 1-959 Inthe drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts-in the several figures.

One end of the cupola ofa grain elevator is'shown in Figure 1 and comprises a roof 10, an end wall 11 5 andcupola-floor 12 through which spouts 13 pass down to the various bins of the elevator (not shown)., A pair: of spaced bridgetrees 14 and 15 extend from the end wall 11 at an elevated position above the cupola floor" and their outer ends are supported by a cross beam 16 which extends completelyacrossthe cupola (not shown); A closed head box 17 is supported between the bridgetrees and is provided with a pair of tubular legs 18 and 19 of rectangular cross section which pass down to a pithopper (not shown) at the bottom of the elevator- The bot tom of thehead box 20, between-the. legs 18 and 19,: slopes sharply toward the front leg 18 while the bottom 21, to the rearof that 20, slopes to a swingable girber spout 22'mounted thereon Thisgirber spout is adapted. to be swung over, orlbe connected'to, the various spouts 13 by suitable controlimechanism (not'shown).

A motor 23 is mounted on the frontleg 18', and through'aV-belt 24-, drives-.aV-pulley'ZS on one end of a shaft 26-which isjournaled at 27 across the bridgetrees', in front of the head box. The opposite end of the'shaft: 26* isprovided with a sprocket 28 which, through a: chain 29,, .drives, a larger sprocket 30 on one end'ofa shaft 31-. The latter. shaft is journaled at 32 on thebridgetrees and extends .across and thr'ough the head bo'x'= 17. Further, this shaft, .within the head box, carries a wide rimmed head pulley 33 which drives an endless helt 34; through the lower frontand back legs 18 and 19"to* the pithopper (not shown). The belt 34 carries a con tinuous line of'spacedtriangular grain buckets 35 which" are adapted, ,When beltroperated, to pick up and elevate grain from-said pit hopperito theheadbox;

A- rectangularrshaped' opening 1 36 is provided on either' side. ofthe head box aroundthe shaft 31' and above the bridgetrees: Battens 37 are provided at each side-ofthese openings to receive and position a pair of closure panels 38f and 39,. one for each opening; These panels are usually made. from a single sheet of plywood and areheld inlplace byv turn buttons 40-which" are pivoted on thebattens:

In vthe. normal working ofthe above mechanism; the motorr23 is-started and, through the drive described, the: head pulley 33"will 'lift thefilledbuckets of grain-up'-from= the pit hopper andthi s' grainw-illbepitchedout of each bucket, over the one infrom; ntothe bottom 21" of the head box assaid buck'ets come over'thehead pulley; Ac cord-ingly, the grainslides'theredown into-the girber spout 22 and downithe connecte d spout ldto itsdesinationa- As the bucketsare moving fairly fast in'this pitchingfopera tion, ,it williber appreciated that eonsiderable -graimdust de curs in the head box, and as it has no means of escape, it is carried down the back leg by the empty buckets for later diffusion all over the elevator in a resulting health and fire hazard, as previously mentioned.

To correct the above bad condition the following changes are made in the above construction and these changes form part of the present invention: An opening 41 is provided through part of the rear portion of the cover of the head box 17 and a pipe 42 connects thereto, passes up through the roof 10 and terminates in a halfcircle return elbow 43 for exhaust to atmosphere. A semi-circular opening 44, around the shaft 31, is cut in the closure panel 39, adjacent the chain sprocket 30, for air passage direct from the cupola into the head box at the head pulley.

The head pulley usually has six spokes 45 (see Figure 4 for the cross sectional-shape) from its hub 46 to its rim 47. A series of six fan blades 48 (see Figure 5) and six fastening plates 49 (see Figure 6) are provided for attachment thereto. The fan blade 48 is a zig-zag-shaped plate of metal having a rectangular-shaped central part 50 with triangular-shaped offset wings 51 and 52 on either side thereof, the pointed lower ends of the wings starting upward from the lower corners ofthe central part 50. Four holes 53 are provided in the central part 50, two at the upper corners thereof and two in the same position but half way down the fan blade. The wings are approximately a 45 angle from the central part 50 and all the upper edge of the fan blade (central part and both wings) is curved to conform with the interior edge of the wheel rim 47. The fastening plate 49 in Figure 6 is the same size and shape as the central part 50 of the fan blade and is provided with holes 54 therethrough which are the same size and will align with those 53 of said blade.

The object of the above fan blades 48 and fastening plates 49 is for the purpose of utilizing the central part of the head pulley as a fan when it is rotating. A fan blade 48 is centrally positioned against each of the Wheel spokes 45 (see Figure 4) and a fastening plate 49 is aligned therewith on the opposite side of each spoke. Bolts 55 are then passed through the aligned holes 53 and 54 and tightened. The resulting wheel appears in face view as in Figure 3.

In operation, with the above changes, the attached fan blades 48 of the head pulley will draw air from the cupola, through the semi-circular opening 44, through the centre of the head pulley and be delivered against the closure panel 38 and into the head box to raise the pressure therein and so drive all grain dust up the pipe 42 for exhaust into the atmosphere, exterior of the elevator. Due to this cross movement of air against the panel 38, a turbulence is set up in the grain head which stirs up the dust, and in conjunction with the pressure, holds many fine particles in suspension for later exhaust out the pipe 42. In actual operation, the exterior of the cupola is completely enveloped by the exhausting dust. Very little of this dust, if any, goes into the bins or down the back leg with the empty buckets. Accordingly, the elevator can be kept relatively clean and the hazards to the health of workmen, or fire such as by an explosion due to a spark, is reduced to a minimum.

From the above disclosure it will be seen that the changes made are very slight in relation to the result achieved, merely consisting in the addition of the pipe 42, cutting the semi-circular opening 44 in the closure panel 39, and the attachment of the fan blades 48 and fastening plates 49 to the spokes of the head pulley. The changes are inexpensive while the benefit is considerable. It is contemplated, of course, to cast or mold the head pulley spokes integral with side wings such as shown at 51 and 52 as a better finished product for the purpose.

While in the present disclosure I have shown the head pulley operating as a fan, it will be appreciated that a separate power driven fan could be installed in one of the walls of the head box and the same result might be 4 Y achieved if both closure panels 38 and 39 were left intact and the other alterations used. Accordingly, I do not wish to be limited by details of construction except as specifically defined in the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a grain elevator having a head box in the cupola thereof, said head box enclosing a drivable head pulley for belt elevating grain in an endless line of buckets to said head box and directing said grain to a girber spout; means for removing formed grain dust in said head box, comprising: a series of radial spokes between the hub and the rim of said head pulley and of an angular-shape in cross section to form fan blades within said head pulley; an opening in one side of said head box, around the drive shaft of said head pulley, for passage of air from said cupola into said head pulley and forcible delivery of same into said head box by the rotation of said spoke fan blades and for turbulence of said air therein; a pipe from the upper part of said head box for exhaust of said air therefrom.

2. In a grain elevator having a head box in the cupola thereof, said head'box enclosing a drivable head pulley for belt elevating grain in an endless line of buckets to said head box and directing said grain to a girber spout; means for removing formed grain dust in said head box, comprising: a series of radial spokes between the hub and the rim of said head pulley; a series of fan blades of zig-zag-shape in cross section presenting a central longitudinal flat surface with offset angularly positioned wings on each side thereof; one of each of said fan blades centrally received against one side of each of said radial spokes and releasably secured thereto; an opening in one side of said head box, around the drive shaft of said head pulley, for passage of air from said cupola into said head pulley and forcible delivery of same into said head box by the rotation of said fan blades with and on the spokes of said head pulley for turbulence of said air therein and a pipe connecting the upper part of said head box for exhaust of said air therefrom.

3. In a grain elevator having a closed head box in the cupola thereof for receiving bucket elevated grain and directing same to a girber spout; means for removing formed grain dust from said head box, comprising: an opening in the side of said head box; a power drivable fan connected with said opening for forcibly propelling air from said cupola, into said head box to create a pressure therein; and a pipe from the upper part of said head box to atmosphere, for exhaust of said pressured air therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,176,869 Starnes et al Mar. 28, 1916 2,246,723 Delivuk June 24, 1941 2,482,159 Delivuk Sept. 20, 1949 2,617,531 Palmer Nov. 11, 1952 

